Radio News

Radio News can sometimes, depending on the size and coverage of the radio
station, be an individual task where one person does all the work to get the story to
air. Radio News may include the following task:

1. Sourcing the Story

2. Investigating and Examining the credibility of the facts
3. Interviewing the people involved
4. Writing the script
5. Editing the audio material
6. Introducing the story, and presenting and broadcasting the bulletin on-air

The Idea behind the News

There are two main qualities professional news staffs need to learn. Firstly a
working knowledge and the necessary skills to complete digital recording and
editing, and many, equally importantly would also say, a better than average radio
news broadcaster also needs ‘an awareness of life.’

Digital editing skills are relatively easy to learn with application and practice, but
an awareness of life is a realization that all news is about people, or the effects of
circumstances on people, and how those people deal with those circumstances.
These qualities will impact greatly on the ability of a news reporter to recognize
news, and then report it accurately in a format that uses radio to its most effective
as a medium.

Pre-Production and Scriptwriting

Once the reporter has decided the validity and news worthiness of a particular
story, to make the broadcast sufficiently interesting for a radio audience they need
to collect suitable audio to bring the news to life. One of the great strengths of
radio, as the industry will often tell you, is its ability to paint pictures in the
listener’s imagination.

It may not be sufficient, to hold an audience’s attention, to simply read story after
story and hope the listener stays tuned. The reporter should be able to write a script
and imagine the news piece on- air before it‘s recorded. Then they are more able to
collate relevant audio using voice pieces, interviews, sound effects and music and
work to their perceived script.

The Production Process and Voicing the Story

Nobody would expect a radio news reporter to also be an accomplished and

dexterous sound engineer, but all operational news room staff will possess basic
digital editing skills, and become familiar with studio operation. They will also be
adaptable and presentable voice-overs or voice talent. The audience must be able to
understand what they’re saying. Audio News presenting is a separate skill to
general presentation, or commercial voicing. The main difference is that news
tends to be delivered slower and more deliberately, and will also be far more
reflective of the varying stories being covered.

Getting the Story to air

Briefly all radio news broadcasters should be familiar with the steps to get any
story on-air:

1. Pre-production, Interviewing, Sourcing the Story.

2. Scriptwriting

3. The Production Process and

4. News Broadcast

All radio station news operations tend to be dictated by the size of the station. The
bigger the station, the more staff and the greater is the specialization. At a smaller
station, one person may be news editor, reporter, presenter, and engineer, but to all
intents and purposes, the process is exactly the same.

How to Write for News Radio

Writing for news radio broadcasts can be difficult, particularly since many writers
are accustomed to authoring stories for print. But writing for the ear is very
different from writing for the eye. And writing for radio follows a distinct set of
rules that must be followed if the broadcast is to be effective and professional.
 Use proper format: Format requirements vary by radio station, but in
general, scripts should be in all caps and double spaced. Information should
also be provided on sound cuts, including speaker, the type of cut actuality,
wrap, voices, length, and out cue.
 Write conversationally: Radio scripts should be akin to normal speaking
style. This varies dramatically from written writing, as material written for
print tends to be more formal. In short, write as though you are telling the
story to a friend.
 Use word economy: Do not use ten words if the message can be effectively
convey using five.
 Use present tense: With news radio, the emphasis is on what is happening.
Therefore, all scripts should be written in present tense. Use short
sentences: Spoken language is comprised of brief sentences, and material
written for radio should reflect that. Providing the radio anchor with short
sentences will also help with delivery, as it’s difficult to anticipate the
direction of a long, run-on sentence.
 Use dashes for acronyms that are spelled out: In the case of “AIDS,” you
would write “AIDS,” because this is how it’s spoken. But if an acronym is
spelled out, as in the case of CBS, it should be written “C-BS.”
 Note network affiliation: When utilizing reporter- or network generated
sound cuts, always note the network affiliation.
 Don’t be repetitive: When writing around sound cuts in the case of a
reporter- or anchor-read wrap, do not repeat information that’s mentioned in
the cut. This redundancy is a waste of airtime. Instead, the lead-in should
serve as an introduction to what the listeners can expect to hear.
 Avoid clichés or “groaners:”These phrases can be very distracting and
void of meaning. And when the listener is distracted by a cliché, his
attention is no longer focused on the story.
 Provide pronunciation guides. In the case of uncommon or difficult to-
pronounce names, provide a notation on pronunciation following every
instance of the name.
 Avoid “he/she” ambiguity: When referencing more than one individual in a
script, always reference that person by name or title. Utilizing “he” or “she”
 can be confusing, particularly when there’s multiple individuals referenced
in the story.
 Ensure clarity and flow: A story that’s clear in the form of a newspaper
article may not be clear when spoken aloud on the air. When written, a story
may also have a nice flow, but that flow is not conversational. So read all
scripts aloud prior to submission.
 Only mention what’s necessary: Lengthy, detail-inclusive stories should
be left to the newspapers. News radio serves to provide only the most vital
facts in a story. Including unnecessary information will waste valuable
airtime and bore listeners.
 Do not include ages: Many writers are inclined to include the ages of
individuals involved in crimes and other similar stories. But unless there is
something highly relevant and remarkable about the individual’s age i.e. an
11 -year-old murderer, it should be omitted. One exception is in the case of
the description of a suspect sought by police. In this instance, the person’s
age is vital to a citizen’s ability to identify the individual.
 Estimate when it comes to numbers: Do not mention “193 students.”
Instead, mention, “Nearly 200 students.” Exact numbers are not going to be
comprehended by the listener.
 Write out numbers one through ten: With numbers over ten, they should
be entered numerically.
 Downplay unconfirmed facts or unknown information: Credibility is
harmed when an anchor begins a story by mentioning the information that
the station doesn’t yet have. Instead of beginning a story by saying, “Police
have not released any information in this case,” mention what is known.
Then conclude with, “Additional information is expected soon,” only if it’s
vital information that the listeners should not be without.

Notably, every news organization’s standards are slightly different and each radio
network and affiliate has their own “house style.”

News radio writers should familiarize themselves with the network’s standards and
with the radio station’s house style before beginning script work. And anything
that is potentially unclear should be addressed with the reporter or anchor who will
be reading the script on the air. This extra step will help limit inaccuracies and
errors on the air.

News reading for Radio

Follow the pattern-The reading of news on the radio is expected to conform to a

pattern of musical pitches or notes. If you were to speak to your friends using this
exaggerated pitch pattern, your conversation would seem a bit too much like "sing-
song." The pitch pattern which is present in all speech does not need to be as
noticeable in direct conversation because the listener can pick up visual cues such
as facial expressions or hand gestures that aid in interpreting the words spoken.

Radio unlike television must rely solely on vocal quality to convey this additional
information, information that may include the length of a story, the story's
seriousness and the credibility of sources. The pitch pattern is especially helpful in
informing listeners when stories begin and when they end.

Pitch should be considered in relative terms as "high" or "low" based on the range
used in normal conversation. Listeners hear the modulation between "high" and
"low" pitch and interpret those changes, even though most listeners are unaware of
the pattern. They become aware

only when the pattern is not properly followed, at which point they become
confused or bored by the story.

Change pitches-Stories begin on a "high" pitch and end on a "low" pitch. In

between the pitch modulates from one clause or sentence to the next. Within a
clause or sentence, the pitch falls slightly from beginning to end, except in
questions, where the pitch rises at the end.

For example, in a standard, four-sentence script, the pitch begins "high," falling
slightly at the end of the first sentence. The second sentence begins at a lower pitch
than the end of the first sentence. The third sentence begins at a higher pitch than
the beginning of the second sentence. The final sentence, like the second sentence,
begins at a "low" pitch and gently falls towards the end of the script.

When news directors, program directors or general managers complain about

monotonous delivery, they are referring to readers who remain on the same pitch
throughout the script. The easiest way to gain an understanding of pitch is to listen
to the pitch patterns of other anchors and reporters, and to practice. With time, the
pattern will become automatic when you're on the air.

Speed it up- The other common fault in news reading concerns speed. Most
beginning radio journalists read and speak too slowly. Perhaps we remember all
too well when, in speech and debate class in junior high school, the teacher
chastised us for being nervous and speaking too quickly. Radio, however, cannot
provide the additional, visual information that exists when speaking in public or on
television. With only one mode of information-retrieval available, the radio listener
prefers to process speech at a faster rate. Normal conversational speed is generally
too slow for reading radio news.

Some reporters and anchors notably those on public radio seem to want to make an
art form out of speaking very slowly. Some of them in public radio claim that their
listeners prefer the news to be read slowly. in any case, choosing to read slowly
because of the wishes of a public-radio news director may limit a reporter's
subsequent career.

Many young journalists find their first jobs with public radio stations. Higher pay
and greater opportunities may be found at commercial stations, but commercial-
radio news directors often balk at hiring a reporter whose demo tape reveals slow
reading. Even if your news director demands slow reading, use examples from the
commercial network and set the speed for reading the news on your demo tape.

Monotonous delivery and slow reading are very common among beginning radio
journalists. Understanding the causes of these faults can lead to their correction.